Farm and Wilderness Reviews

This is a spectacular facility where nature connection and organic farming have been taught experiential for 70 years. It a working food producing farm, three residential summer camps set on a scenic forested mountainside on the shore of a pristine lake. The farm produces fruits, vegetables and herbs as well as dairy, beef, wool, pork, eggs, chicken and more. Not to be missed.

An amazing wilderness camp in a beautiful Vermont valley with a strong social justice focus.

I worked as winter staff back in the early 80's. awesome opportunity for someone considering homesteading but without the requisite experience.

There are lots of good things about the F&W camps. They do promote a sort of free-spirited self-confidence in children and young teens, they get kids away from their phones/ipads/laptops, and when things go well (good counselors, good peer group, good weather) it can be a wonderful experience.

On the other hand ... each year the "identity politics" gets more and more calcified and all-encompassing. The pressure on kids to conform to the camp's identity-politics ideology is relentless (though, to be fair, this can vary a bit from year to year and from camp to camp).

In particular ... I would be very cautious about sending my daughter to F&W nowadays. It's an epicenter of Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria. Many girls this age are (understandably) unhappy about how female persons are treated in society, and are nervous about their upcoming puberty/period/bodily changes. At F&W, there is a lot of peer pressure on these girls to declare themselves transgender, "non-binary", or anything else that is Not A Girl.

Its a weirdly anti-feminist message. Lots of girls who go to F&W are not into stereotypically "girly" things (makeup, dresses). Ideally, the message they would get at F&W is "That's OK, girls can do and be whatever they want; ignore the stupid stereotypes". Instead, the message now seems to be "If you don't fit the stereotype, you might not be a girl. You can be trans, or non-binary, or anything else as long as it isn't a girl."

My older boy saw a bit of this, and from what I'm hearing from the younger one it's gotten worse. I've spoken with three parents of girls who went to F&W camps and when they returned home told their parents that they "didn't want to be called a girl". In all three cases they eventually got over their ROGD and eventually became comfortable with their own biology, but in one case the girl spent a year being stressed-out and anxious about what it meant to be "non-binary" before she finally decided that she was OK to be female and she didn't need to change.

So. Lots of good things about the camps, but all the (well-intentioned) focus on "identity!" can be overwhelming and distressing to children ... and some of the counselors seem to think it's their mission to convince as many kids as possible to adopt a new and different and more "woke" identity.

I went to this camp last summer to Timber lake and it was the best experience of my life. Every kid is so nice. Day one I had ten new friends. The staff are the nicest people on the planet, The food is amazing, All of the things I did there were awesome. I picked up woodworking there and now it is my main hobby. This place is the best place on earth and makes all other camps look dull.

My son loves going to this camp everyone is so friendly and kind

I love this camp. Staff is so well trained and their live for the children shines through. Grounds are well kept and children learn a great deal. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Best camp ever. Amazing staff, great management team. If they did not have an age limit, I would go there instead of my child.

I go to an adult retreat yearly and it has been life-changing!

Just have to remind dog owners to not leave their dogs in hot cars. Dont bring the dog! Follow the rules!

I remember coming here in 2016, and it was such an experience. I looked up this place after sitting here and getting nostalgic, but the sense of fraternity and brotherhood I felt among my peers and the staff as well is something I'll never forget.

I worked here five summers in the 80's, was inspired to start my own camps in Europe and then came back to work again as Director. I love the "Go Big or Go Bigger" camp culture mixed with moments of calm and reflection in Silent Meeting. Being outdoors all day in such a beautiful place with such great people is what keeps me connected.

Wow. Thanks to my aunt Cel and the Jack n Jill program outta west chester, pa I experienced this opportunity in 1990 something. It's a great experience tho I am a afro-American that was a troubled youth I learned how to make a drum, farm, square dance, camp, swim, made friends. I got kicked out for a week and spun time with a family in new Hampshire they were great, because I was allowed to return and continue my experience.

F&W is an amazing life-changing experience. All three of my children spent summers there and the camps helped them become the wonderful people they are.

I went to Timberlake camp for 2 full summers In the early 90s. This camp and the entire community that is farm and wilderness is amazing. I just recently visited with my family and it is still the same amazing place. The things I learned about myself and about life and nature those summers truly shaped me into the man I am today. I spent the ride home telling my girls all the great stories about my summers there and they can t wait to go to Indian Brook. This camp is amazing and any child would be incredibly fortunate to experience it.

i went to timber lake, easily the best experiences ive ever had came from there one day id like to work as a counselor

My daughters got so much out of this camp. They loved it!!

My son was in Timberlake and encountered terrible bullying. The staff was untrained, administration had no system in place to remedy and prevent such situations and tried to cover it up. I heard from many other parents of similar experiences. Other camps seem to be better supervised.

amazingly beautiful campus with caring, compassionate and expert staff